Featured Profile

First elected in 1990, Richard Blumenthal is serving an unprecedented fifth term as Attorney General.

Blumenthalâ€™s aggressive law enforcement for consumer protection, environmental stewardship, labor rights and personal privacy, has helped reshape the role of state attorneys general nationwide -- and recover hundreds of millions of dollars for Connecticut taxpayers and consumers each year.

He helped lead the national fight against Big Tobacco to stop deceptive marketing aimed at children -- a victory significantly lowering youth smoking rates, and compelling a multibillion dollar settlement for Connecticut taxpayers.

His advocacy has forced reforms in the health insurance industry to assure critical health care coverage and lower pharmaceutical drug prices. He has worked relentlessly to eradicate corruption in state government and make state contracting accountable, fair, honest and transparent.

He has successfully fought unfair utility rate charges, air pollution causing acid rain and other environmental wrongdoing, and scams and frauds victimizing consumers.

His vigorous investigation and legal action involving insurance industry abuses has successfully forced financial restitution and reform, compelling greater disclosure by insurers and brokers to consumers -- and recovery of millions of dollars for the state, municipalities and individuals.

He has personally argued major cases in court, as he did the successful effort to uphold the sex offender registry in the U.S. Supreme Court. He has fought and sued the federal government for failing to follow or enforce environmental laws and energy statutes -- and for imposing on local taxpayers unfunded multimillion dollar mandates under the No Child Left Behind law.

Blumenthal previously served as administrative assistant to U.S. Sen. Abraham A. Ribicoff, aide to former U.S. Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan when Moynihan was Assistant to the President of the United States, and law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun.

He served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1984 to 1987, and then the State Senate from 1987 to 1990. As a volunteer attorney for the NAACP legal defense fund, Blumenthal saved the life of an innocent, wrongly convicted death row inmate, who came within hours of execution.

Blumenthal -- the highest Democratic vote getter in the state -- graduated from Harvard College (Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude), and Yale Law School, where he was editor of the Yale Law Journal.